D of E Volunteering at Preston Montford

The D of E (or Duke of Edinburgh) Award is a nationwide award scheme for young people from 14-21. It involves 4 sections: Physical, Skills, Volunteering and Expedition. 3 of which can be done here at Preston Montford. I chose to do my skills section.

The skills section involves learning about a non-sporting hobby and the skills it involves. I have been learning about the different techniques that are used in conservation.

I started on the 4^th October making a woodlouse house. I was joined by Iain and Ruaridh had to collect moldy/old wood to attract the woodlice to a box where they can be caught and counted as part of mark release recapture which can give conservationists an idea of how many woodlice there are in a certain area.

On the 29^th October I had a go at coppicing. Me, Ruaridh and Angela had to cut hazel trees down to their stumps so that they could regrow in different directions to create habitats for the smaller animals on the ground level rather than growing into a big tree. We had to use: loppers, secateurs and pruning saws to cut the branches depending on their size. We then put the branches to one side to be used around the centre. Some were used for firewood whereas some were used for other things.

On the 5^th November, I was reusing the wood from the coppicing. We used billhooks to strip off some of the smaller branches off the bigger branches and put the smaller pieces to the side for firewood. We then used the bigger branches to finish weaving a fence to cover some containers near the front of the centre. It was a great use of the wood from the coppicing the week before and it was great to see the fence grow as more wood was added.